Animal trap



C. CAIN.

ANIMAL TRAP.

. APPLICATION man MAR. 3|. |921.

1,418,864. Mmmm 6,1922.

.PATENT'FFICs-i CHARLES GAIN; or WASHINGTON rowiv's'iii'r, owEN couNTIYfrNDrANA.

ANIMAL '.r'aAi.y l'

To all whom z2 may concern:

, Be it known that LCHARLES GAIN, a citizenof theUnited States, residing in Wash-r ington Township, .n in the county of lOwen and State of Indiana, have inventedanew f anduseful-Animall Trap, of which the -following is a specification, reference being had p to the accompanying drawings and.` to thel letters and `figures of reference marked thereon.

.Thisy invention relates to an automatic repeating ,live-animal trap designed for trapping, without injury, a pluralityof animals in succession. v e 'y An object of this invention istoprovide a cheap, durable, reliable and economical repeating-action.live-animal trap. `Another object isfto providepa trap, vrequiringr the minimum amount of attention, for securing a plurality of' animals. A further object is to4 provide an improved trap which. shall operate without 'injury to a valuable furbearinganimal or its fur, thus safeguarding the pelt, and vwhich shall be adapted for retaining animals of an obnoxious character. A still further-'Objectis to provide a trap having a dual attraction to lure the animals to the proper location for springing thetrap. A With the above-mentioned and other objectsin view, the invention consists in an improved live-animal trap having a suitable cage or-storage compartment and provided with means for attracting animals,` and means for imprisoning such animals. The invention consistsalso furtherin the novel parts, combinations, @and arrangements of parts as vhereinafter more particularly described andfurther setforth in the accompanying claims. A I Referring to the drawiiigs,- -Figure l is a perspective view of the new automatic repeating live-animal trap; Fig. 2 isa top plan of Athe `complete trap Fig. 3.isja transverse central sectional elevation of the complete trap; Fig. a is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on the .line IVe-IV inFig. 2; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional elevation on theline vV-V in Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section 011. the line VI-#Vlin Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is van enlarged fragmentary sectional n, view on the line Specification of Letters Patent; Patented J i l Application aiefi Maren 31, 1921./ se1-iaino--457i6af y n f Fig. 2F 8 enlarged 1 sectional view `of an operating spring motor on'the line VIII-.VIII in Fig. 2;.` and, Fig'.y

9 is a side elevation of they trap door. of the machine having aniimprovedlatch and trip spring. Similar reference characters in, the ydifferent figures of the drawingsfindicate like parts or features of construction 'herein referred toin detail.

The `4improved"trap as practically l coiistrucjted, consists of a, cageaffoiding, a Storage ,compartment having aV bottom or floor l, sides 2 and 3, and ends4 and 4f. j The end LL kis provided with a head-board 5 eX- tending higher than the aforementioned 1 1.

si'desiand ends and adapted .to form a frame on which` a mirror'G is set. Aneye Tis securedto the upper portion. Lof the yheadboard andsupports ay hook 8 on which to secureabait. y f

Aj rotating trap centrally mounted, slightly below the vtop yof thesides 2 and Son Ia shaft llthat isfrotatably supported in said sides, and having. on one end thereof a crank 12 provided with a handle'for windingor turning. On` the outside of the side 2'and concentric with the shaft Ell a caseor cover Vl?),ismountedfin which va helical spring 14 is encased,

one ,endP--of the spring `having a securpin-l5, thes'pringlt can be .wound aboutthe yshaftfand they inserted Apinil binds the. yshaftfll and the trap doorl lOQtogether as a single unit.

An improved, latclifand tripr spring kmember is provided,having tapered armsj19 and 20 slightly bent outward from its center whichis securely; attached by screws or devices l0 to one side of :the trapdoor l0 at an oblique angle, about the 4centerfof the shaft ll. -Y

doork lOl-isprovidcd and.

trip plate Qlis provided and-is centrally located toward one end of the trap door 10 and a similar trip plate 21 is located diainetrically opposite to the trip plate 2l through the center of the shaft 11. rlhese are connected at one end thereof to the door by means of pivot staples and 22 to operate as levers and have lever arms 23 and 23 respectively at right angles to their faces, and are free to oscillate about the staples. The arms 19 and 2O of the improved latch and trip spring are connected with the arms 23 and 23 respectively byrods or wires 24 in such manner, that when they yare in their normal position the plates 21 and 21 are inclined above the trap doorlO sufliciently tov permit movement of the levers 23 and 2to draw the outwardly bent arms 19 and 20 towards the trap door. l

A stop pin bushing 25 `is secured in the side 2, which is screw-threaded and adjustably receives a stop pin 26, being located at a suitable point to stop the trap door 10 in a horizontal position by means of the arms 19 and 20. The stop pinl26 has an end bar 2T which projects beyond the inner side of the side 2 into the path of movement of the? arms 19 and`20 to successively stop the movement of the arms as they are carried `by the door under the action of the spring motor. y

A latch spring 28 is provided which has a base plate 29 securing `it on one side of danger.

the head-board 5 in such a manner, that when the trap door 10 is released and rotates, it strikes against the spring `28 which acts as a brake and shock absorber. The trap door 10 rotates with suicient force to pass slightly beyond the spring 28 which7 assuming its normal shape engages and prevents tlie door from being reversed.

In `practical use, the trap is first set or prepared by winding the spring 14. This is accomplished by moving the bar 1T away from the pin l5 and thus off the shoulder 16 which allows the pin 15 to be Withdrawn. Holding the trap door 10 with one hand, the crank `12` is utilized to wind the spring 14k until it is fully wound, after which the pin 15 is returned and locked. The trap is then baited and placed in a favorable location, preferably in an excavation, with the trap door 10 approximately on a level with the adjacent ground or floor, or it may have brush or similar material heaped about to get the desired level. After the trap has been placed it requires no further attention until such time as the spring has entirely unwou'nd` The continuity of its operation makes it highly eiiicient, obviating the necessity of a human odor in the vicinity, and probably frightening those animals who depend a great deal on scent to warn them of In operation the animal is attracted by the odor of the bait and is further enticed by the appearance of its own likeness in the mirror 6, inducing it to go onto the trap door and spring the trap by a slight pressure on the trip plate 21 or 21. rlhis disengages the arm 19 or 2U from the pin end bar 27, allowing the trap door l() to rotate and drop from beneath the animal, thus precipitating it suddenly into the cage or storage compartment, and preventing escape because of the return of the trap door by its niotorto its normal position as a cover.` The continuation of the trap doors rotation is arrested by the bar 27 obstructing `the path of the latch and trip spring arms 19 and 20, thus setting the trap for further quarry.V lThe trapped animalscan be removed by a quarter rotation ofthe trap door which opens the top, or the trap can be immersed in a tank of wateruntil the secured thereto and also to the cage, a trap door detachably secured atitsmiddle por-ltion to the shaft and normally closing the top of thecage, a stop device Xed on the inside of thecage, two laterallyfinovable spring-arms mounted on one side of the trap door on opposite lsides respectively of the shaft radially to the shaft to alternatelyengage the stop device on rotation of the shaft, and'two tripping devices mounted on oppo-` site sides respectively of the trap dooi and adjacent to opposite ends respectively of the door and provided with cranks having pull-.i rods connected with the spring-arms respectively.v

of a cage comprising a bottom and two sides andalso two ends, one of the ends having a head-board on its top, a bait-holding device mounted on the headboard, a combined brake and reverse stop mounted on the lie"adboard, an operating sliaf t rotatably mounted in the upper portions of said two sides mid! waybetween said ends andhaving a' crank thereon 'outside of one of said sides` a` trap door rotatively connected midway between 2. In a livesaninial trap, the combination y y the two opposite ends thereof to said shaft l to swing and co-operate with-said brake and reverse stop, a locking pin detachably ecnnected to the trap door and the operating shaft, means to secure the locking` pin in place, a spring motor'iiiounted on the cage two trip plates pivotally mounted on oppo- 11i-testimony whereof, I ax my signature site sides o th trap door adjalcent ohthe in presence of two Witnesses.

opposite en s t ereo respective y an aying each a relatively angular arm thereon, CHARLES CAIN and rods connected with the arms of the Witnesses: trip plates respectively and also with the HARRY F RITTS, spring-arms respectively. FRANK MGGLAFLIN. 

